The DLM's do look amazing and I agree with Johnathan. A while back I had a conversation with the tech at my favorite repair shop when I saw a Mackie in for service, Central Jersey Music in Edison. He confirmed things had changed at Mackie. The other tip he gave me was the first generation of the Fender PA's weren't holding up well either.
But Donny I'm still interested in your review so hurry up and get them. HA!
They do take "portable" to whole new level.

I have to plug my EV's here- not because I'm selling them, but because i think they are the clearest and lightest around. I always used an outboard mixer/power amp or powered mixer whether as a solo or with the band. I can't go with the idea of set it and forget it powered speakers. If you realize you need to make an adjustment to volume or tone, you can't very well run back and forth from your keyboard to the speakers until you get it right, even though you thought it was right before you started. The EVsb122 sub is smooth as silk, and the zx1's do with 8" what others need 10 or 12 to do. The weight (36lb sub/16 lb satellite, and pole) of the tower is less than that of a bose L1 tower. And the can be carried separately to lighten the load. I use a bag with both zx1's in it and covers for the subs.It requires pole mounting and a jumper cable between both speakers rather than a click of the stick tower stuff, but that is minimal time for maximum profit and quality..the Mackies are very expensive as are the Yamahas. If powered speaker is the way to go, I would do as suggested and look at the new EV zlx line, or current live x/zx lines.

I can't disagree with you there. Same can be said about powered vs passive. I always needed at least 4 channels for a solo so some kind of mixer was needed. If you're soloing with a keyboard and mic that runs through it the least amount of pieces you can get away with the better. Have these (mackie) actually hit the big box store shelves yet?

The truth is, all equipment is good to a certain level. Unfortunately the end user can make or break a product, also the end user has his own perspective of sound. I heard QSC K's and Mackie SRM sound amazing and sound like crap. Just because you buy something doesn't mean you know how to use it properly.

Plus what's going in you signal chain matters allot too. You can't expect to put an entry level sub $80 mixer, with a limited eq, a very small knowledge of sound, then run it into a $1000 speaker and get the ultimate sound, all you are doing is amplifying crap.

If all performers knew what they were doing and using decent mixers, cables, mics, all the QSC, Mackie's, Yamaha's etc, will sound great, some will have a more preferred sound to some people while that same sound might be unliked by others.

The bottom line is I need more customers so I can pay my bills

hahahah